Improvement in wheels for vehicles



l. B. FINK.

VWheels for Vehicfles.

Patented 1an. 19,1875.

a t7 f a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. FIN K, OF SAEGERSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF HIS RIGHT TO WILLIAM S. GODSHALL.

IMPROVEMENT IN WHEELS FOR VEHICLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 158,925, dated January 19, 1875; application filed December 22, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN B. FINK, of Saegersville, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain newiand useful Improvements in Carriage Wheels5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification Figure l is an end View of the hub'of a wheel, showing the ends of the dowels which secure the spokes, the annular covering-band being removed. Fig, 2 is an end view of the socket-ring. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the same on g/ y of Fig. 2, and fn. aof Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the socketring on lines z z of Fig. 3, showing the llets which unite the two anges, as seen in Fig. 3, the wooden hub being removed. Fig. 5 is a plan view of o ne of the annular bands for covering the dowels, and preventing their disbinations of some of the parts of which theyl are composed, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The importance of keeping the spokes tightly in the hub and annular socket-ring'is well understood, and various methods have been adopted to effect this purpose, but so far all have failed to do this effectually. In this invention a method is shown whereby, in the event of the shrinkage of the spokes after being inserted, they can be tightened by the conical or wedge -form of the dowels, which draw bore77 the shoulders, and thus force them toward the center of the hub.

A A' represent the two flanges of metal which are annular in plan, as in Fig. 2, and

L-shaped in section, as in Fig. 3. flanges have cast in their webs B B holes a, a a", which may be circular, as a a', or square, as a. The webs B and B of these flanges are united together by fillet-pieces b b', which also serve to form the mortises of the hub for the shoulders of the spokes, as seen in Fig. 4, where two spokes are represented in place at S. The fillets b b are so arranged that they form between them supports for the dowels, as continuations of the sides of the holes a a a, which are either circular or square in the iianges, and which are represented by D D. rlhese dowels, which may be made tapering,

.so as to draw the spokes inwardly, and thereby tighten them, confine the shoulder of the spokes, as at S, Fig. 4, by being inserted nearly one-half of their diameters in each side, the main tenon S iitting into the mortise of the wooden hub H. The annular bands O O,

one on each side of the metal hub, are fastened by screws, and cover the ends of the dowels, and prevent their removal, except when necessary to remove a broken spoke, or to tighten them when loose from shrinkage, wear, or other cause.

' I am aware that it is not new to use dowels for retaining spokes, nor metal rings for sockets.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

In a carriage-wheel, the combination of a hub, H, socket-ring A A, spokes S, retainingrings O C, and dowel-pins D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own invention, I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. FINK. Witnesses:

G. M. CoNNELL, J oHN M. J UDD.

These 

